This patent application is a Continued Prosecution Application of the above-referenced utility patent application filed prior to May 29, 2000 by the same inventor for the same invention without adding new subject matter.
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to self-administered training and behavior modification devices, specifically to a discrete operator-prompting reminder system and method that are iterative and recursive, using a combination of manual operator input and prior history to establish the timing of each next prompting signal. The device does not provide its user with a programmed schedule of future events, but instead calculates the timing of each next prompting signal based in part upon the most recent operator entry identifying whether the operator was engaged in the monitored behavior at the time the last prompting signal was generated. Therefore, each next prompting signal brings a user successively closer to the desired behavior modification goal, all the while adapting, even when the user has a xe2x80x9cbad dayxe2x80x9d. Applications may include, but are not limited to help in changing undesirable or unwanted behavior such as the correction of poor posture, cessation of nail biting, overcoming a tendency to pull on or twirl hair, reduction of elevated blood pressure levels, overcoming negative reactions to stress, improvement in attitude and a sense of well-being, and enhancing one""s ability to concentrate or focus.
2. Description of Prior Art
A parent concerned about a child""s future behavior, social acceptability, and general sense of well-being and self-worth is a valuable iterative instrument in conditioning the child and shaping the behavioral patterns that the child will carry forward into a successful adulthood. In essence, the reminding parent can continually assist a child in remembering to pick up and straighten the belongings in his or her room, stand up straight, use good manners while eating, stop nail biting, eat the proper foods for good nutrition, stop squirming, use socially acceptable language, be fiscally conservative, and the like, until the repetition yields results successively closer to the desired result of conditioning the child to function in a positive and productive manner. Although children may not always appreciate the constant reinforcement, they rely on it to learn acceptable behavior until they can become sufficiently self-disciplined to correct bad habits and undesirable behavior on their own. However, in spite of the best efforts of even the most concerned parents, most children will experience a variety of bad habits as they grow up and most will enter adulthood with at least a few which they have been unable to overcome. In addition, many adults become so busy in their daily lives that they are not able to find the extra energy or focus necessary to correct such bad habits or other recognized unwanted behavior without some assistance. These adults would benefit from a companion device that would take the place of a reminding or nagging parent and provide them with an automated reminder on a periodic basis to stop performing a selected type of behavior, which they consider undesirable and sincerely want to correct or improve, but have otherwise been unable to do so.
Many conditioning, memory enhancing, and behavior modification devices are known. They have been used for weight control, posture monitoring and training, diabetes management, sports training, timed medication dispensing, prenatal breathing control, pulmonary tract sensitivity testing, and swallowing rehabilitation. Some involve biofeedback where respiration or electrical impulses are measured and used as a basis for timing the next generated signal. Others provide for randomly generated prompting signals after which the operator may be offered one or more alternative choices of response behavior, and still others set target times and schedules for operator performance. However, none offer the iterative or recursive combination of continued adjustment and fine-tuning of interval length, while not allowing the user to anticipate a next signaling prompt, that leads the user ever closer to the desired behavior modification result. The prior art believed to be the most closely related to the present invention is the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,854 to Behar (1989). The Behar method and apparatus initially establishes baseline behavior for a user, then generates a fixed withdrawal schedule for the user. The only way for a user of the Behar invention to obtain any variation in the prompting schedule needed to adapt to newly encountered distractions not present during the baseline phase, would be to start over and reestablish a new baseline from which a different fixed schedule of events is then calculated. Through use of the Behar invention, the user is placed upon a time schedule of smoking events, being notified by the Behar device of the time when a xe2x80x9cnext smokexe2x80x9d is permitted. After the baseline phase, Behar provides one-way communication, with the machine telling the user when to engage in the undesired behavior. In contrast, the present invention remains in two-way communication with a user during the entire period of use. The Behar invention has distinct xe2x80x9cbaselinexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cwithdrawalxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9cnon-smokerxe2x80x9d phases, as well as a xe2x80x9ccurfewxe2x80x9d phase when a xe2x80x9cdon""t smokexe2x80x9d icon is displayed. While this is convenient to smokers who crave a next smoke and must extend the time periods between smoking events or overcome habit, such an ever-increasing time between successive events will not necessarily be successful to stop hair pulling or the correction of poor posture. In the Behar invention, transfer from one phase to another is automatic, usually with the sounding of an audio signal to make the user aware of the transition. After the xe2x80x9cbaselinexe2x80x9d data is collected, a schedule is set and remains fixed, the time interval only changing from that in the originally calculated schedule when the user smokes early, whereby the schedule from a given day may be repeated. Otherwise, the only way for a user of the Behar invention to obtain any variation in the prompting schedule needed to adapt to newly encountered distractions not present during the baseline phase, would be to start over and reestablish a new baseline from which a different fixed schedule of events is then calculated. The decision whether to repeat a day will be made by the Behar device according to the number of days to go in the schedule. Also, there are a limited number of restarts once the xe2x80x9cnon-smokerxe2x80x9d phase is reached. The user is reminded of the next time to smoke through timely audio or visual signals. The Behar device can also have a display that identifies to a user the number of days left in the schedule and the time remaining until the next signal. In contrast, the present invention does not provide a schedule divided into xe2x80x9cbaselinexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cwithdrawalxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9cnon-habitxe2x80x9d phases, in fact there is no fixed schedule at all. Instead, the present invention is iterative and recursive, with each next signaling prompt being calculated on the basis of a finite number of previous user responses, with the fluid, continual adaptation involved in the calculation of future signaling prompts successively bringing a user closer to his or her behavior modification goals. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the time remaining until the next prompting signal is variable and purposefully remains an unknown factor for the operator so that he or she is not able to anticipate the next prompting signal and thereby skew the history available for use in determining the timing of future prompting signals. Instead of providing a non-variable withdrawal schedule once a baseline data collection phase, as in Behar, the present invention continuously updates the baseline data by incorporating each new operator entry into the prior history. Thus, each operator entry is an interactive response, that affects the timing of the next response, in contrast to the Behar response which at most allows repetition of one day in a fixed xe2x80x9cdays to goxe2x80x9d schedule. Also, when the operator using the present invention reverses progress due to some distraction, the present invention remains iterative with the interval frequency of behavioral reminders being immediately decreased until the operator overcomes the distraction and again is able to make advancement toward cessation of the bad habit or unwanted behavior. This is not possible with the Behar invention, which has a predetermined schedule based upon a therapist""s estimate of what would be appropriate for a typical person on a theoretical typical day. Therefore, success with the Behar largely depends on luck and compatibility of programmer and user. The present invention is not a best trend with a pre-established xe2x80x9cone-size-fits-allxe2x80x9d schedule. If a user is honest with his or her response input to the present invention, success is almost certain. Also, the present invention permits immediate use toward achieving a targeted behavior modification goal, not requiring a waiting period to establish a baseline from which a fixed schedule can be calculated. Use of the Behar invention would be comparable to a parent placing a series of notes on a calendar, refrigerator, or bathroom mirror to remind a child to alter behavior when the parent is not physically present, whereas use of the present invention is comparable to an interactive parent ever watchful of a child, who subconsciously monitors behavioral trends in the child and calculates an appropriate interval to administer the next reminder, with the child""s success increasing the time interval to a next reminder. No other self-administered behavior modification device is known that functions in the same iterative and recursive manner as the present invention and provides all of its advantages.
It is the primary object of this invention to provide a system and method which can be used in place of a reminding parent for iterative and recursive training or conditioning of people to modify behavior that they recognize as undesirable and want to correct. It is also an object of this invention to provide a behavior modification system and method which is uncomplicated and easy to use so that people will not become frustrated with it and abort their efforts prior to accomplishing their objective. A further object of this invention is to provide a behavior modification system which is presented in the form of an object or device that its operator is likely to have close at hand during the behavior modification period, such as a wristwatch, a pocket watch, a lightweight and aesthetically pleasing pocket-sized trinket or keepsake, a piece of jewelry configured for attachment to clothing, or a commonly used hand-held object such as a writing implement or a key chain, to make its use both easily portable and discrete, or in the alternative for the system to be adapted for use with an electronic device commonly used during work hours, such as a personal computer, hand-held electronic organizer, electronic notebook, cell phone, pager, or laptop computer. It is also an object of this invention to provide a behavior modification system which can provide an operator-prompting signal through a variety of discrete means that include audio, visual, or vibrational signals, and combinations thereof. It is a further object of this invention to provide a behavior modification system which is not easily disengaged by the operator so that the operator is not easily tempted to turn it off before the desired level of correction for the unwanted behavior is achieved. It is also an object of this invention to provide a behavior modification system having a configuration which can be cost effectively manufactured in both disposable and non-disposable forms. It is a further object of this invention to provide a behavior modification system having uninterrupted operation during a typical behavior modification period expected for an average adult without the need for replacement or power source renewal.
As described herein, properly manufactured arid used, the present invention would provide a discrete method and operator prompting system that is iterative and recursive, and can be used to modify many types of unwanted behavior. The prompting system would use a combination of the most recent operator input and prior history to establish the timing of a next prompting signal. A relatively long period of prior history is preferred so that the operator is not too severely set back if he or she has a xe2x80x9cbad day.xe2x80x9d The system does not provide its user with a programmed schedule of future events, but instead calculates the scheduling of each next prompting signal based in part upon the most recent operator entry identifying whether the operator was engaged in the monitored behavior at the time the last signal was generated to successively lead a user closer to the desired behavior modification result. Also, the present invention is not like a biofeedback system where the user affects the frequency interval of a machine response. Instead, the reverse occurs where the machine affects the frequency interval of a human response. Should no operator input be received, the interval for next signal generation would remain the unchanged. The system would either comprise a microprocessor housed in a hard outer protective covering that is compact, lightweight, aesthetically pleasing, easily portable, and discretely configured as a commonly carried item having another functional purpose, such as a writing implement, a pocket-sized trinket or keepsake, a wristwatch, a pocket watch, a piece of jewelry configured for attachment to clothing, or a key chain, or in the alternative the system would be adapted for use with a commonly used electronic device including but not limited to a desk-top personal computer, an electronic notebook, an electronic hand-held organizer, a cell phone, a pager, or a laptop computer. It is important that the housing be configured as an object that the operator would be likely to keep close at hand during a routine work day when the operator would otherwise be distracted and not thinking about overcoming unwanted behavior. When the present invention has a battery power source and is not a disposable unit, its housing should provide an easily accessible means for rapid battery replacement, such as an easily releasable sliding cover or a threaded cap. After initializing the system, the operator would be provided with a succession of prompting signals at unanticipated times, each calculated according to prior success or failure in avoiding the targeted unwanted behavior. Although its operator would be able to turn off the present invention whenever desired by a multiple step shut down procedure, the shut down procedure would be purposefully extended or complex so that turning off the present invention becomes a conscious operator decision and not an unthinking reflex. Thus operators are given more of an opportunity to reverse a shut down decision made prior to achieving the desired level of behavior correction, before the last of the multiple steps is completed. In the preferred embodiment, if the operator is engaged in the unwanted activity at the time a prompting signal is generated and indicates so by providing appropriate response input to the system, the interval for the next prompting signal would be shortened. In the preferred embodiment the amount of shortening would be variable so that the operator does not skew the history for determination of next prompt signals by anticipating them. Variability associated with the time intervals between prompting signals would also more closely resemble the unpredictability of a reminding parent, however, the device would also function effectively as a reminder to teach a person to overcome a targeted bad habit even if that person were to anticipate one or more prompting signals. Although not critical, the system could also be configured for various useful visual displays, such as but not limited to the current date, the current time, a progress graph, or the average recent interval between generated signals based upon an established number of recent operator responses to let the operator know whether the unwanted behavior is diminishing or becoming more pronounced. Power source conservation in the present invention is promoted by simple operator responses and automatic rolling display of the current date, current time, progress graph, and average recent interval between generated prompting signals during a short period of time unless the operator interrupts the automatic display to re-set the date or time. Since the present invention relies on honest operator response, its use is limited to behavior recognized by the operator as unwanted, and for which the operator would have a sincere desire for improvement. Simultaneous monitoring of more than one unwanted behavior is also considered to be within the scope of the present invention. If the present invention is non-disposable, renewing the factory default settings for the monitoring of a new unwanted behavior could be accomplished by conscious command or removal and subsequent replacement of the power source. In the alternative, if the present invention is disposable, renewal of the factory default settings for new operator behavior modification use could only be accomplished by conscious command.
The description herein provides preferred embodiments of the present invention but should not be construed as limiting the scope of the iterative and recursive reminder device invention. For example, variations in the dimension and configuration of the housing used; the type of signaling method used, whether it is visual, audio, vibrational, or a combination thereof; the configuration, number, and positioning of response/set buttons used; the type of display graph used; the order in which the date, time, progress graph, and average recent signal interval are displayed; and the factory default setting used for its sleep mode, other than those shown and described herein, may be incorporated into the present invention. Thus the scope of the present invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than the examples given.